


Returning Home

by CertainVICTORy



Series: Trainshipping Holidays [5]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Adventure, Established Relationship, Family Fluff, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, trainshipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:00:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 14,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25920226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CertainVICTORy/pseuds/CertainVICTORy
Summary: Victor returns to his home region, Sinnoh to visit his mother, there Neil meets a kid his age and strives to befriend him.
Relationships: Hop/Masaru | Victor
Series: Trainshipping Holidays [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1784917
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Vic here with the next portion of my Vacation series! Enjoy! Neil is owned by gummymela (twitter and tumblr)

“I wonder how fast this train can go!” Neil pressed his face on the window and giggled as he watched the trees go rushing by. “I bet it could go faster than Zacian and Zamazenta!” Hop laughed and lifted Neil into his arms and sat him in his lap.

“I bet it can! How do you feel, by the way, son?” Neil looked up and grinned at him.

“Really good! Like I can run around again!”

“That’s good!” Hop smiled as Neil looked over at Victor.

“Dad, how long till we get there?” Neil stared at Victor, who had a somber look on his face. “Dad?”

“Huh?” Victor looked over at Neil, raising his brow at his son.

“You okay?” Neil walked up to Victor and held his arm as the Champion ruffled his hair.

“Yeah, just doing a lot of thinking.” Victor held Neil’s hands and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Dad needs some alone time right now.”

“Daddy?” Neil clutched his chest as Hop set him in his lap.

“Vic is it about-?”

“Yeah…” Victor looked away and bit his lip. “I don’t know if I have the heart to face her, it’s been so long…” Hop held Victor’s hand and kissed it.

“Dear, it’s okay, Neil and I will be with you.” 

“Yeah, Dad! I’ll be with you to see Grandma! Then she can see how great of a Dad you are to me!” Neil smiled as Victor wiped his eyes.

“Thanks, you two.” Victor kissed Neil’s cheek and leaned his head on Hop’s shoulder. “I’m glad I have you both in my life.”

“We’re glad too, Vic.” Hop kissed Victor’s head as Neil rested his head on Victor’s lap.

“How long till we get there, Dad?”

“About a few minutes.” Neil yawned and curled up next to Victor.

“Can you wake me up when we get there?” Neil slowly nodded off as Victor brushed back Neil’s hair.

“Vic, dear...we should tell Neil.” Hop held his husband’s hand as he nodded.

“I know, but it’s so hard to face reality again...my mother, she was so ready to see Neil, but life had other plans.” Victor pulled out his phone and smiled as he glanced at a photo of himself, Gloria and their mother, grinned just before the final battle in the Champion Cup. “I miss her a lot.”

“I know you do. She was a kind and caring woman,” Hop kissed Victor’s cheek and smiled at him. “Kind of like you and Neil!” Victor smiled and brushed back Neil’s hair, causing him to stir a bit.

“Yeah, whenever I see Neil’s smiling face, I am reminded of her. That same level of kindness that still exists in our little boy.” Victor wiped a tear from his face and chuckled. “I’ll tell him after we get settled in. I’ll wait a bit.”

“You take as long as you need, Vic. We will have to talk to Professor Rowan first in Sandgem Town, in case those brothers appeared.” Victor rested his head on Hop’s shoulder and smiled.

“Yeah, that would be good.” Victor looked up as the intercom boomed through the loudspeakers.

_ ‘Attention passengers, we are approaching Jubilife City...please be sure to have all personal belongings with you before exiting the train.’  _

“We’re almost there!” Victor smiled and looked down and shook Neil awake. “Hey, buddy, we are almost there!”

“Five more minutes, Dad!” Neil grumbled and nuzzled his head against Victor’s body.

“Looks like the little guy is out like a rock.” Hop laughed as Victor cradled him in his arms. 

“That’s our little Munchlax, come on, Neil, let’s go see Dad’s home region, together.” Victor smiled as the train slowed to a stop.

* * *

Hop took a deep breath and looked around the bustling city that was Jubilife. “It’s not as big as Motostoke, but it’s still just as busy.” 

“Yeah…” Victor looked off in the distance and smiled. “It’s been a while, Sinnoh. But I’m back.” 

“Vic, you gonna be okay?” Hop grabbed Victor’s shoulder as the latter turned around.

  
“Yeah, I’ll be okay, shall we head down towards Route 202?” Victor held out his hand and looked forward as Hop took it.

“Hey,” Hop squeezed Victor’s hand and rubbed his finger over his palm. “I’m here for you.”

“Thanks, Hop.” Neil stirred in his sleep and rubbed his face. “Oh, is someone finally awake?”

“Hiya, Dad! Where are we?” Neil rubbed his eyes and looked around. “We’re in Sinnoh? Dad, you were supposed to wake me up!” Neil pouted at Victor and crossed his arms.

“I’m sorry, Neil!” Victor laughed and nuzzled his cheeks to his son’s face. “You’re just so cute; I couldn’t help but let you sleep!”

“Dad!” Neil whined as Victor squished his cheeks. “Stop it! You’re squishing my face!”

“Sorry, kiddo.” Victor laughed as he set his son down. “But yeah, welcome to Sinnoh, buddy!”

“Wow!” Neil looked around Jubilife as he held Victor’s hand. “It feels nice! You and Aunt Gloria used to live here, right?”

“Yeah, Gloria, your grandmother and I lived here for a few years but moved to Galar. It’s been a while, but It’s nice to be back.”

“I can’t wait to see Grandma! I hope she’ll like me.” Neil smiled at Victor, who bit his lip and looked up.

“I’m sure she already does.” Victor chuckled and walked towards Route 202.

_ ‘Mom, I may be the strongest trainer in Galar, but I’m not sure if I’m strong enough to face this.’  _ Victor tensed up as Hop hugged his side.

“You’ll be okay, Vic, just one step at a time.” The Champion blushed and nodded.

“Yeah. Hey, Neil!”

“Yeah?” Neil looked up as Victor smiled at him.

“I heard that Professor Rowan has a grandchild that’s around your age!”

“Oh, really? I can’t wait to meet them! I wonder what they are like?” Neil looked up at the sky and smiled. “Maybe we can become friends!”

* * *

“Hideyoshi! Are you there?” Rowan’s voice called out from afar as a kid with bright orange hair and glasses stood up from his desk.

“Yes, Professor! I’m just finishing up fixing your Poketech!” Hideyoshi looked down at the broken watch and smiled as he clicked the components into place. “Good as new!” They let out a soft smile as they ran towards the Professor. “Here you are, Rowan!”

“Thank you, Hideyoshi.” Rowan let out a gruff chuckle as he ruffled his grandchild’s head. “Looks like your natural hair color is coming back, do you want me to dye it again?”

“Maybe? I’ll decide later if that’s okay…” He blushed as Rowan nodded.

“Of course, it is! You’re your own person; you can have all the freedom you want! You’re a big kid now.”

“Professor, I’m only eight years old.” Hideyoshi laughed, causing Rowan to blush and clear his throat.

“That’s still a big kid!” He stood up and turned around. “At any rate, we have visitors coming?”

“Oh?” Hideyoshi’s head sank as he fumbled his fingers around. “I’ll be in my room then, as usual.” 

“Well, our visitors are from Galar. The Professor and his husband have a son around your age.”

“Oh?” Hideyoshi lifted his head as Rowan grinned at him.

“Yes, maybe you can befriend the lad?”

“I don’t know. What if he thinks I’m boring or something; I’ve never thought about having a friend before.” Hideyoshi sighed as he heard a knock on the door.

“Welcome, to our lab!” Rowan smiled as he saw Hop and Victor walking in. 

  
_ ‘That boy…’ _ Hideyoshi locked eyes with Neil as the boy smiled at him.


	2. Chapter 2

“Welcome to our lab, Professor Hop!” Rowan smiled and shook Hop’s hand as he smiled and greeted the fellow Professor. “I do hope your trip was safe and smooth.”

“Thank you; the train ride was nice and comfy, thanks for asking!” Hideyoshi carefully eyed the other Professor and stared at him.

_‘By the looks of things, he’s kind of young compared to Mister Rowan, but he looks competent enough.’_ They traced their eyes over to Victor, who smiled at Rowan.

“It’s good to see you, Professor.” Rowan raised a brow at the Champion and rubbed his beard.

“I don’t believe we’ve met…” Victor chuckled and took off his hat.

“Rowan, I’m Olivia’s son!” Suddenly Rowan’s eyes lit up, and he went to hug Victor.

“Young, Victor, it is you! My, my, you’ve grown! How’s Gloria doing?” Victor chuckled as Rowan released him.

“She’s doing well! She’s actually watching over Galar as I’m traveling with my family!”

“Is she now? I’m glad!”

“Who’s that, Dad?” Neil looked up as Victor crouched down.

“That’s Professor Rowan of Sinnoh! You’re Aunt, and I used to come play with some other kids over at the lab before we had to move away.”

“Oh! So this old guy is like Professor Sonia then or Papa!” Rowan smiled and nodded at Neil.

“That’s correct, young man! Your father and aunt used to play with the other kids here a ton!”

“How are Lucas, Dawn, and Barry anyway?” Victor stood up as Rowan pulled up a picture frame.

“Dawn is our new Champion actually, while Barry runs the Battle Frontier, and Lucas is away on a retreat in researching Pokemon just like his father!”

“They’ve certainly been busy.” The Champion chuckled as he spotted Hideyoshi. “Oh? Is this your grandchild?” Hideyoshi jumped and hid behind Rowan and stared at Victor. “Hello there!”

“Hideyoshi, it’s okay, just say hello.” They peered their head from behind Rowan and bowed.

“Hi there, I’m Hideyoshi, it’s nice to meet you.” Victor looked down at Neil and smiled as he took his son’s hand.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Victor; this is my husband Hop, and this bundle of joy. Is Neil, our son!” Victor brought Neil to Hideyoshi as Rowan stepped aside.

“Hiya! I’m Neil!” Neil smiled and stuck out his hand as Hideyoshi tensed up and stared at it. 

“H...H...Hi…I’m Hideyoshi. I like your hoodie, Neil.” 

“It’s nice to meet you, Hide! I love your tie and vest!” Neil beamed as Hide tilted his head.

“Hide?” 

“Yeah, Hideyoshi can be a mouthful to say, is that alright for me to call you that?” Neil crossed his arms as Hide chuckled and nodded.

“That’s fine, I kind of like the sound of that!” Hide looked up as Rowan smiled at them.

“Hideyoshi, why not show Neil your room?” Hide stared at the ground and scratched the back of his head.

“I don’t know if he’d like it, though.”

“You don’t know that! Come on, Hide!” Neil grabbed his hand as the former pulled them along.

“W...w...wait, at least let me show you first!”

“Hide sure seems like a nice kid.” Hop sat on the chair as Rowan served them tea… “how’d you end up with a grandchild anyway? I thought you never had kids.” Rowan sighed and shook his head.

“Well, do you guys remember the Team Galactic Incident many years ago?” Victor nodded as he stood behind Hop.

“Yeah, it was a few years after Gloria, and I moved away with our mother…”

“Well, we were just recovering from that incident when about seven years ago, a few remnants appeared and tried to summon Giratina.” Hop set his tea down and gripped Victor’s hand.

“Don’t tell me.” Rowan nodded at the Professor and took a deep breath.

“His parents were researching around Turnback Cave when Team Galatic came. They were colleagues of mine and good friends...I was babysitting Hide at the time. After the news hit, I made his parent’s last wish be that I raised Hide as my own.”

“Does Hide know?” Hop stood up, causing Rowan to shake his head.

“No, I haven’t’ had the heart to tell him.”

“Rowan, Hide is bound to find out. They look like a smart kid. You’ll have to tell him eventually.” Hop looked over at Victor, who bit his lip. “Parent or not, don’t you think they deserve to know the truth?”

* * *

“Wow, Hide, your room is so cool!” Neil sat on a nearby chair as Hide pulled up another chair. Neil smiled at the various amount of books that lined Hide’s room. The boy then spotted something orange in the corner of the room and smiled at it. “Oh, is that a Pokemon?” Hide looked up as the Pokemon ran up to them and sat on his head.

“Yeah, this is my partner, Chimchar!” The Chimp Pokemon smiled as Neil waved at it.

“It’s so cute! I like how it matches your hair too!” Neil smiled as Hide touched his hair and looked at the mirror.

“Huh, I guess you’re right…same orange color minus the black on the sides and back of my head.” Hide stared at themselves in the mirror and smiled.

“You kind of remind me of a Professor! Is that what you wanna be when you grow up?” Hide looked down at his white dress shirt, dark blue vest and blue tie, and blushed.

“Kind of...I kind of want to be like my grand- I mean Rowan. It’s kind of like a dream...sorry if that sounds lame.”

“It doesn’t! I think it sounds cool!” Neil stood up and proudly pointed to himself. “As for me, I want to become Champion just like my Dad!” Hide laughed as he sat down.

“That’s cool, Neil! I hope you get to achieve it one day.” Hide sat down in his chair, pulled up to his desk, held out his Poketech, and pried it apart.

“Whatcha doing?” Neil looked over Hide’s shoulder, causing him to jump.

“Gah! Don’t do that! You almost made me break my Poketech.”

“Sorry, but uh, what’s a Poketech?” Hide raised a brow and stared at Neil with his icy blue eyes.

“Really? You don’t know?” Hide rolled back in his chair and took out a purple-colored Poketech. “Poketechs are basically watches that come with a various amount of apps for everyday use!” Hide pushed up his glasses and held out the watch for Neil to see.

“Oh, what kind of apps?” 

“Oh lots, like, Happiness checker for Pokemon! Or a Calculator, a stopwatch, a kitchen timer, a happiness checker, and oh, a move tester! These watches are made by the Pokemon Company and have made everyday use much easier for people and trainers alike!” Hide smiled wide and froze as he turned away. “Sorry, I kind of went on another tangent again...I’ll stop.”

“Why? It was getting interesting!” Neil smiled as Hide turned around.

“Really?” Neil nodded and leaned back on his chair.

“Yeah! We don’t have these back at home, just our Rotom phones!”

“Oh...wait, did you say Rotom?” Neil nodded as Hide stood up.

“Yeah, we use Rotoms in almost everything.” Neil pulled out his purple phone and pressed the button as it came to life and zipped around.

_‘Bzzt Bzzt! Hello again, Neil! Out in Sinnoh, arent we? I’ll go ahead and update your dex accordingly if you’d like!’_ Neil giggled and shook his head.

“There’s no need! I’m on vacation!” Hide ran towards the phone and eyed it.

“Amazing! I’ve heard that Rotom’s could possess electronics but never used in ways like this! That’s so cool!”

“Not as cool as the Poketech!” Hide chuckled and shook his head.

“I doubt it...but man, think of all the possible cool stuff the Poketech could do if we could add Rotom’s to the Poketech.”

“Is there any way I can help?” Neil stood up as Hide looked away.

“Well, there were rumors of a Rotom in the Old Chateau but, Rowan said that place is forbidden.”

“Let’s go to it, though!” Neil took Hide’s hand and grinned as they shook their head.

“What? I can’t disobey him! He’d get mad!”

“It will be okay, Hide!” Neil grinned as he waved his finger around. “We have Pokemon with us, and think of it as a good way for you to research about Pokemon! We will be in and out before Rowan knows it!”

“Well, if you put it that way...I guess that should be okay.” Neil smiled as Hide grabbed a black satchel bag. “I’ll grab some supplies just in case.”

“Awesome! Let’s go!” Neil giggled as Hide smiled back at him.

_‘Never really explored outside the lab without Rowan...this could be fun!’_


	3. Chapter 3

Hide, and Neil walked out the door and walked towards the front door. Hide looked around and quietly stared at Neil. “Okay, they are in the other room, if we are quiet we can-”

“Neil, where do you think you’re going?” Victor looked out of the doorway and raised a brow as he turned around.

“Oh, Hide is gonna show me around a bit!” Neil smiled as he grinned at his friend.

“Do you want me to come with you guys? 

“No!” Hide shook his head and blushed as Victor stared at him. “I mean, no, it’s okay; we won’t be far.” Rowan walked up to Hide and crouched down.

“Hide, you don’t plan on going anywhere, dangerous, are you?”

“Of course not, Professor!” Hide looked back at Neil, who nodded. “Neil just wants to see what’s around the area; we won’t go far, I promise.” Rowan nodded at him and stood up.

“Okay, call me if you need anything, alright?”

“I will thank you.” Hide bowed as he opened the door.

“Hideyoshi…” Rowan reached out as he turned around.

“Yes?” Rowan paused and sighed.

“Be safe, and remember, I care about you.” Hide nodded and turned around as they opened the door.

“Of course, thank you, Professor. Come on, Neil.” Neil nodded and followed his friend.

* * *

“Hey, Hide?” Neil held ran up to him and looked back at the lab. “You okay?”

“Neil, can I talk to you about something?”

“Yeah, sure, what’s up?” Hide stopped in his tracks and looked at the sky.

“You know for a fact that Mister Victor and Professor Hop are your parents, right?”

“Of course! They are my dads! They take care of me, and I love them, and they love me back!” Hide smiled as Neil grinned at him. 

“I wish I could say that about Professor, Rowan…”

“What do you mean, isn’t he your grandpa?” Hide shook their head and scratched their face. 

“I don’t really consider him my grandpa...yeah he’s taken care of me, and he loves me, but...one night when I couldn’t sleep, I overheard him talking over the phone and well…” Hide bit their lip and stared at the ground. “Forget what I said, I’m sorry for venting on you all the sudden-” Hide froze as Neil hugged them.

“Hide! I’m sorry that you think that way!” Tears fell from Neil’s face as Hide stared at him.

“Neil, what do you mean?”

“Even if Mister Rowan isn’t your real grandpa, I think his love for you is real enough for you to say he does see you as his grandchild!”

“You really think that?” Neil nodded as he wiped his face on his sleeve.    
  


“Yeah! Parent or not, if he loves you, then that means your family too! Take my Grandpa Kabu, he’s not really my dad’s dad, but he helped my dad a ton during his first few years as Champion, so much that my dad thinks of him as family!” Hide nodded and smiled to himself.

“You have a nice family, Neil! I’m glad to have met you.”

“Of course! We are friends, and friends help each other out!” Hide froze as Neil ran towards Route 202.

“Friends?” Neil looked back and grinned at them.

“Yeah! It’s like how my Papa and Dad were as kids! They were friends and did a lot of things together!” Hide smiled and turned bright red, causing Neil to run towards him.

“Hide, are you okay? I didn’t say anything wrong, did I?” Hide chuckled and shook his head.

“No, I’m kind of happy! I’ve never had a friend before, well other than my Chimchar.” Hide laughed as he stared at Chimchar’s Pokeball, “Hey, Neil.”

“Yeah?”

“Now that we are friends, how about I show you a special secret way to get to Eterna Forest?”

“Oh, like a secret passageway?” Neil’s eyes lit up as Hide walked up to a nearby berry tree.

“Not exactly, but it will get us there fast, but you have to be quick.”

“Quick? What do you mean?” Neil crossed his arms as Hide climbed the tree and grabbed a few berries, and held them up.

“Well, let’s just say-” Neil jumped as he heard a loud call of a Pokemon.

“Hide, what is that?” Neil pointed at the sky as a large brown bird flew around him. “Hide….”

“Relax, Neil! Staraptors won’t hurt us...well, if you hurt their young. Get ready to jump!” Hide threw the berries onto the ground and stood back as the Predator Pokemon landed and eyed the berries, paying no mind to the two kids. “Now, Neil!” Hide jumped onto the back of the Staraptor and clung on as it flailed around.

“Okay...here goes!” Neil ran towards the Pokemon as it began to take flight. 

“Hurry, Neil!” Hide looked down and held out his hand as Straptor took flight. Neil ran forward and jumped and grabbed onto Hide’s hand as the two kids flew over the trees. 

“Nice catch, Hide!” Neil giggled as Hide smiled back. Suddenly the Staraptor cawed and flailed around, desperately trying to shake the kids off. “Hide! We are gonna fall off!” 

“Not gonna happen!” Hide brought out a small device from their bag and carefully strapped it around Staraptor’s head.

“What’s that?” Neil asked as Staraptor looked around and began to soar towards Eterna Forest.

“Oh, it’s a little device that can help me guide Staraptor! I use my Poketech to send a signal to Staraptor’s brain, making it think that it’s needed in that location!” Hide smiled as he pressed a few buttons on his watch.

“Whoa, that’s so cool!”

“Yeah! It’s safe too! I just have to wrap it around Staraptor’s head, and we are good to go!”

“One last question, Hide!”

“Yeah?” 

“Why didn’t you do that on the ground?” Hide chuckled and smirked at Neil.

“It’s more fun to watch you freak out.”

“Low blow, Hide!” Hide laughed as Neil turned red in embarrassment, desperately clinging onto his friend’s body as the two kids rode off towards their destination.


	4. Chapter 4

“You can see Floaroma Town, just up ahead!” Hide pointed at the small town as Neil looked overhead.

“Wow, there are so many flowers!” Hide smiled as he looked down.

“They bloom every spring and, a ccording to the townspeople, Floaroma Town was once a barren and desolate hill. People started planting flowers around it to cheer up the place, but nothing would grow. Then, someone expressed thanks for a blessing of nature, and the whole hill burst into bloom!” Neil’s eyes lit up as he hung onto every word of his friend.

“Wow! That’s pretty cool!”

“Yeah, we’re about to head over the meadow right now, actually so you can see more pretty flowers there! I like the orange ones a lot!”

“Cause it matches your hair!” Neil grinned as he touched Hide’s bright orange hair.

“No...that’s not it.” Hide shook his head as Neil raised a brow.

“Huh, I thought you’d like the orange ones, cause it reminds you of the sun! Just like your hair!” Hide blushed and gently pushed Neil.

“Come on, Neil, don’t go saying stuff like that.”

“Why not? I can say those things to my friend!” Hide chuckled and stared at Neil’s hair.

“Why are we talking about my hair, when it’s yours that’s a mystery, like how does it stay like that?” Hide pointed at the swoosh that adorned Neil’s head as the boy laughed and flashed a grin.

“I got it from my Dad! His hair is a bit of a mess, but I like it!”

“Must be nice, being able to have something from your parents…” Hide looked down and rubbed their hand through Staraptor’s feathers. “I never knew what my parents looked like, to be honest.”

“Hide?” Neil looked over at his friend, who looked back up at him and smiled.

“Sorry, I’m rambling again.” Neil frowned and shook his head.

“Papa always says to apologize, only if you did something bad! And you did nothing wrong.” Neil pointed at Hide’s face and giggled.

“I guess you’re right…” Hide turned back around and smiled as he saw the forest appear up ahead. “Neil, we are here!” Hide pointed to an abandoned building and laughed. “I can’t believe we get to see Rotom! I’m so excited!” Hide touched his Poketech and nodded as Staraptor began its descent. Neil bounced up and down as he gripped Hide’s shoulders.

“Sweet! I can’t wait to see-” Suddenly, a wave of electricity surged from the sky and flew towards the duo. 

“What was that?” Hide looked up and covered his eyes as the field flew past them. He suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end as he turned around and gasped as the device on Staraptor’s head short-circuited and fell off. “Uh-oh.”

“Hide, what do you mean, Uh-oh?” Neil suddenly fell back as Staraptor began to flail around. “Hide! I’m slipping!” Neil reached out to his friend as he fell off the Pokemon.

“Neil!” Hide reached out and grabbed his hand and desperately clung onto the Staraptor as the two fell towards the forest. “Neil...I can’t hang on!” Hide’s fingers began to slip as he fell off the Staraptor.

“Haunter, help us out, please!” Neil shouted as his Pokemon appeared from his Pokeball and grabbed the two kids. “Thanks, Haunter!” Haunter giggled and placed the two kids on his head as he slowly floated downward.

“Wow!” Hide pushed up his glasses as he eyed Haunter. “You have a Haunter, that’s so cool!” Haunter blushed as Neil nodded and smiled at Hide, but froze as he spotted something black, zip across the sky.

_ ‘What was that?’  _ Neil wondered as the duo got closer to the treetops.

“Neil, watch out!” Hide shouted as the Staraptor flew towards Haunter and slammed its talons against him.

“Haunter!” Neil shouted as Haunter fell, causing the kids to land in the trees.

* * *

“Owww… my butt!” Neil rubbed his lower back and looked around as he brushed the leaves off of his body. “Hide? Where are you?” Neil stumbled and steadied himself as he hung by a tree.

“Over here…” Neil looked over and laughed as Hide slumped over a nearby branch, slowly swaying up and down as the branch creaked and cracked on the added weight.

“You okay?” Neil watched as Hide fixed his glasses and pout at his friend.

“Yeah, thankfully, the trees broke our fall, but my invention is gone…” Hide stared at the ground and spotted his device, which was split in two. Neil looked over and smiled as Haunter shook his head and picked Neil up and carried him down.

“Thanks, buddy, but are you okay?” Haunter nodded and licked Neil’s face, causing his hair to stand up on end. “I take that as a yes!” Neil ran below Hide and looked up at him. “Hide, can you jump?”

“Are you crazy? What if I hurt myself?” Hide grabbed the branch and hugged it as Neil shook his head.

“Hide, come on and get down! I thought you wanted to see the Old Gateau?”

“Neil, it’s Old Chateau…” Hide sighed and bit his lip. “Okay, here goes.” Hide dropped down and dangled his legs and took a deep breath. He let go and fell onto his legs and stumbled over.

“Hide!” Neil ran over and held them up. “You alright?” Hide nodded and chuckled a bit as Neil rubbed his back.

“Yeah, I’m okay! That was kind of fun! You think we could do that again?” Neil giggled and nodded.

“Yeah! We can have Haunter around to catch us so we won’t get hurt!” The kids laughed for a while as Hide fixed their bag.

“Okay, for starters, I should take my invention back, and well, try to fix it later.” Hide walked over to his device and brought out a small box and placed the broken parts into it. “What was that thing, anyway? An Electrical surge is so bizarre.” Hide placed a hand on their chin and began pacing around. “It’s sunny out, so there’s no way it could be a storm, a solar flare? No...there hasn’t been any recorded ones on the news yet...a Pokemon? That could be it.”

“Hide…” Neil walked passed his friend as the former talked to themselves.

“Not now, Neil...I’m trying to figure out something.” Suddenly Neil grabbed Hide’s face and directed him forward.

“We can worry about that later! Look!” Hide’s eyes widened as they spotted the old and broken down house that stood in the middle of Eterna Forest.

“The Old Chateau…”


	5. Chapter 5

“Wow, this place sure is old! I wonder how old it is?” Neil walked towards the fence and admired the decrepit building. 

“Hmm, according to my Pokemon, history app…” Hide looked down at his Poketech and flipped through the small screen. “Huh, that’s strange…”

“What’s wrong?” Neil walked over and noticed that the screen was blank. “Is it broken?”

“No...it’s not.” Hide shook their head and tapped his watch. “Unless...that electrical surge affected it, but that’s impossible, my Poketech doesn’t run on electrical power.”

“Wait, really?” Neil’s eyes sparkled as Hide nodded. “What does it run on?”

“Batteries…” Hide stuck his tongue out, causing Neil to frown at them. “What, it’s true! That field looked like an EMP.”

“E..M...P?” Neil tilted his head and crossed his arms at his friend.

“Sorry, uh EMP or Electromagnetic Pulse!” Hide pushed him his glasses and grinned at Neil. “Sometimes called a transient electromagnetic disturbance, Emp’s can come from a natural occurrence or man-made one and can occur as a radiated, electrical, magnetic, or a conducted electric current, depending on the source!”

“Wow, Hide, you sure know a lot about this!” Hide blushed and scratched his face.

“Thanks...I do a lot of research in my free time.”

“Tell me more!” Neil’s eyes lit up as he got closer to Hide.

“You sure? I don’t want to bore you.” Neil shook his head and grinned.

“I love learning new things! Although I don’t get any of this stuff, seeing how you are excited about this kind of stuff makes me curious!”

“Are you positive? Cause I can go on and on.” 

“Trust me; my Papa does this to me all the time.” Neil laughed as he stared at the sky. “It used to get annoying, but then I realized how much fun he could have with it! So like how my dad always says. If you see the people you care about, happy, it makes you happy too!”

“Oh, that’s wow…” Hide wiped his face and smiled. “Okay, here goes.” Hide took a deep breath and pulled out his phone. “EMP interference is generally disruptive or damaging to electronic equipment. At higher energy levels, a powerful EMP event such as a lightning strike can damage physical objects such as buildings and aircraft structures!” 

“Go on!” Neil sat on the fence as Hide nodded. 

“So there are various forms of EMP energy...I’ll give you the shortened versions, though, don’t worry.” Hide sat next to Neil and cleared his throat. “Well, there’s Solar, which can come from the sun, which is rare usually.”

“The sun? That’s so cool!” Neil jumped up and laughed as he looked at the sky.

“Yeah, speaking of the sky, there’s another one that can come from Meteors, but those are more ground level. And the last one is through, lightning or electric….Pokemon…” Hide froze and looked at the mansion as he uttered the last few words.

“Hide?” Neil walked up to his friend and waved his hand in front of him. “You okay?”

“Yeah...call me crazy, but I might know what caused that sudden burst of electricity that downed us….and what might be causing my Poketech to freak out.”

“The only crazy I’d call you is crazy smart!” Hide chuckled and gently pushed Neil.

“Oh, stop.”

“It’s true! I’ve never met someone so smart, well, other than Miss Sonia or my Papa!” Hide smiled as he stood up and turned towards the Old Chateau.

“We might not know what’s in there, but all I know is that a Rotom is inside that mansion, and I want to see it for myself!”

“Great, let’s go!” Neil grabbed Hide’s hand and laughed as the two kids went towards the door.

“Wow, it’s amazing that this place still holds up.” Hide looked around at the moldy floorboards and cracked wood. The paint was damp and chipped, showing signs of decay. “Well, shall we go, Neil?”

“Yeah!” Neil smiled as he turned the handle, but as he did it, the doorknob fell and thumped the ground. “I didn’t do it!” Neil threw his hands back as Hide chuckled.

“It’s not your fault...it’s pretty old anyway...look at the hinges and stuff.” Hide pointed at the rusted metal and shook his head. “It’s amazing that it’s still kind of works.” 

“Okay, here goes!” Neil pushed opened the door and walked inside. Hide fixed their bag and walked in but froze as he felt something behind him.

_‘Huh?’_ He quickly looked around the trees and shivered. _‘Something or someone is following us...but what?’_

“Hey, Hide! Come on; you got to see how amazing this place is!”

“Coming!” Hide shook their thoughts and walked inside as a shadowy figure appeared from the trees and stared at the Mansion.

* * *

Hide walked inside and stumbled over the very dusty red rug that laid on top of the floor. He glanced around the main foyer and spotted some old stairs that lead up to different rooms. His footsteps echoed throughout the manor, being extra careful of the small holes and cracks that lined the ground.

“There’s not much around here anymore…” Hide looked to his left and spotted a kitchen and walked towards it. Suddenly his Poketech began to lit up from his wrist. “Oh, good! It’s back online, now let’s see what we can do here!” He flipped through his apps and pressed the Pikachu icon. He then reached into his bag and pulled out a small flashlight and plugged it into his watch. 

“There we go!” The light flashed outward as Hide carefully looked around. “Hmmm, well, there’s a lot of dust, and the tables are pretty much decayed.” He walked past a refrigerator that hummed as we went by. 

“Wait a minute…” He froze and walked back and swallowed…”I did not just hear it hum at me.” Hide carefully brought their hand towards the handle and swallowed. 

_‘Okay, you can do this, Hide...you can do this…’_

“Hey, Hide!” Neil appeared from behind, causing Hide to scream and drop his flashlight. “Gah!”

“Stay back! Neil?” Hide took a deep breath as he saw his friend standing behind him. “DON’T DO THAT!”

“I’m sorry! I was exploring the other room and thought you’d follow me, but I guess I found you in the kitchen.”

“Neil, please don’t sneak up on me again.”

“My bad.” Neil placed his hands behind his head and looked around. “This place is pretty spooky though...just earlier I had a fan turn on for some reason...it was kind of freaky.”

“Is that why you’re covered in dust?” Neil looked down at his body and giggled.

“Yeah, it got everywhere!” Neil brushed the dust off and squinted. “Oh, I think I’m gonna.”

“Neil, wait!”

“Achoo!” Neil sneezed, causing more dust to fly around.

“Bless you…” Hide opened their bag and handed Neil a tissue.

“Thanks!” Neil wiped his nose and laughed as Hide shook his head.

“Wait, you said the fan turned on?”

“Yeah, it was kind of weird.”

“Freaky…” Hide placed a hand on his chin and stared at the fridge. “Well, a similar thing happened with the fridge here too. It hummed as if it was on...which is odd.” Suddenly Neil spotted something moving out of the corner of his eye.

_‘Victor….’_

“Huh? What was that?” Neil looked around and saw nothing but the light coming from Hide’s flashlight.

“What was what?”

“I don’t know...I heard a voice that called out my Dad’s name.” Hide raised a brow as he adjusted his bag.

“Your Dad? Didn’t he used to live here?”

“Yeah, in Sinnoh near Eterna City...but something about the voice...feels familiar.” Neil crossed his arms and tilted his head. “Must’ve been the wind.” Hide rubbed his chin and smiled as he walked over to Neil.

“Hey, mind holding this for me?” Hide unplugged the flashlight and handed it to their friend.

“Don’t we need this as a light?” Neil gasped as the flashlight shined, even when unplugged.

“It doesn’t need to be connected to stay lit, but in any case, I have something that might help us!”

“What?” Neil watched as Hide flipped through his apps and stopped.

“Found it! A Dowsing Radar!”

“Oh, What does it do?” Hide lifted the screen towards Neil and showed off a grid map.

“Its normal use is to find items, but I modified it to help me search for abnormal changes in the environment, like electronical, temperature, and probably ghost stuff!”

“You had me at items, but a ghost? That’s pretty cool! You think there are some ghosts are here?” Hide shook his head and pressed the button as a soft hum, shot across the room.

“Unlikely, but it might help us find some Ghost Pokemon!” Suddenly the machine on his wrist beeped and flashed. “Oh, it found something! It’s upstairs, let’s go!” Neil nodded and followed Hide and suddenly felt a chill.

_‘Victor…’_

  
_‘There’s that voice again…’_ Neil wondered as he climbed the stairs in the Old Chateau.


	6. Chapter 6

“This way, Neil!” Hide ran through the Old Chateau’s quiet halls, the kid’s feet, bounding along the wooden floor. Hide looked down at their Poketech, which hummed and beeped as he got closer to the mark on the interface. 

“Wait, up, Hide!” Neil ran behind Hide and looked around the old and dusty walls and pinched his nose as the smell of decay filled his nostrils. “Wow, this place stinks.”

“Yeah, I guess that’s what happens when you sit and age for hundreds of years.” Hide laughed and slowed to a stop as he turned around. “You turn old and smelly.”

“Like Professor Rowan?” 

“Hey, he’s not that old!” Hide shook their head as Neil giggled and stuck his tongue out. 

“I mean he’s your grandpa, he’s gotta be ancient or something!” Neil looked at Hide in the eyes and laughed as his friend rolled their eyes.

“I guess so.” Hide turned around and faced a wooden door. “According to my dowsing machine, the ghost.” Hide looked up as Neil’s eyes lit up. “Or Pokemon.”

“Aww.” 

“Is behind this door. But be ready, anything can be in there.” Hide looked down at his Poketech and tapped it, expanding the screen for a better view. He then lifted it towards Neil and pointed at the blinking dot. “Right there is our culprit; we just have to open the door and make our way through.”

“Sounds easy enough!” Neil smiled and opened the door but froze as it wouldn’t turn. “Hide, I can’t get the door to open!”

“Huh? Let me try.” Hide walked up and grabbed the door handle and tried to push it open. As they rammed their shoulder into the wooden door, it opened partly before slamming shut. “It’s stuck.”

“What are we gonna do?” Neil wondered as Hide walked around.

“Hmm.” He looked up and smiled, a small gleam in his glasses appeared as he stared at Neil.

“Hide? Why are you staring at me like that?” Neil tilted his head as Hide pointed at an open hole above the door.

“You think you can climb over and look through?” Neil threw his arms back and waved them around.

“What? Why me?”

“Neil, you’re shorter than me. You’re the only one that can do it!” Neil crossed his arms and pouted at Hide.

“Fine, just tell me what I have to do.”

“Okay, you can climb on my shoulders, and I’ll hoist you up to the open area, and you can look inside.” Hide crouched down and held open his hands. 

“Alright, I trust you!” Neil grinned and stood on Hide’s hands and used the door as grip and climbed onto his friend’s shoulders.

“Wow, you’re really light.” Hide chuckled as he leaned his face close to the door. “Do you see anything?”

“Not yet, just let me reach up…” Neil grabbed the ledge and pulled himself closer and peered through. He glanced around the dimly lit room and looked down. “I think I know why the door is jammed, Hide!”

“That’s great! But can you hurry up? My shoulders are getting tired.” Hide winced as Neil giggled.

“Sorry, let me just.” Neil jumped and crawled through the crack and jumped down. He brushed off the dust on his body and walked over and moved the piece of wood that jammed the door. “Okay, Hide! I got it!” The door opened, revealing his friend’s smiling face. “Hey there!”

“Hi yourself! So what do we got?” Neil looked down and pointed at the piece of wood.

“That’s our culprit right there!” Hide walked over and stared at the piece of wood and shook his head.

“It might’ve fallen as the ceiling got old.” Suddenly the room went dark, causing Hide to turn around. “Neil?”

“I’m right here.” He pointed the flashlight at them and smiled. 

“I’m surprised the lights still stayed on for so long. But don’t worry, it should be out of power, so no more weird stuff.” Hide chuckled as Neil waved the flashlight around the room.

“It’s so spooky around here; it’s kind of neat!” 

“I guess that makes two of us.” Hide caught the figure of his friend and laughed to himself as he saw the boy express delight in the room. 

“Let’s see what we can find?” Hide looked down at his watch and walked around. “Hmm, two spaces to the right; threes spaces north, and- OW!” Hide smacked into Neil and fell on his butt.

“Careful!” Neil held out his hand and smiled under the flashlight as Hide grabbed on.

“Sorry!” Hide smiled and walked around.

“Oh, what’s this?” Neil walked over to an old book and blew on it, sending a dust cloud into the air. “Oh no-” He sneezed and shivered.

“Bless you.” Hide said without looking up from his watch.

“Thanks!” Neil opened the book and began looking through it.

_ ‘I can barely read it! It’s so old!’  _ He thought as he flipped through the pages.  _ ‘Oh? Here’s something...g..gh..ghost? And mo...mot...motor? Beware.’  _

“According to my Poketech...the thing is in the...TV?” Hide looked up at the blank television and stared at it. “That can’t be right?” He tapped the screen and stared at it.

_ ‘Victor….’  _ Neil shivered and jumped as the voice echoed through his head. 

“Who’s there?” 

“It’s just me, Neil.” Hide continued to poke at the screen as Neil walked up to him.

“No not that, I keep hearing the voice again…Hide, I’m getting scared now.” Neil hugged Hide from behind and held on.

“Hey, It’s okay, we can go home if you want, I won’t push you.” Hide smiled and turned around. Suddenly the TV turned on and began to buzz in a flurry of static.

“Hide? I thought this place was out of power?” Neil stepped back from the TV as he clung to Hide’s arm.

“I did...but that’s impossible.” Just then, Hide’s watch began to beep loudly. “Wait...there’s a second one?”

“What?” Neil looked up as the TV grew a face and began to move out of the TV, giggling excessively. “Hide….what is that?”

“I don’t know, but we should get out of here!” Hide grabbed Neil’s hand and ran out the door as the TV sparked to life and flew towards them.

“Hide, why did we come here?” Neil shouted as the duo ran down the stairs.

“To see something cool!” Hide ran towards the front doors and tried to throw them open, but struggled to open them. “What? We’re stuck?” Hide desperately tried to open the doors but flew back as the slammed shut.

“Are we trapped?” Neil looked down at his friend, who shook his head.

“I don’t know…” Suddenly Hide’s watched beeped loudly as two dots began to close in on their location. 

“Hide!” Neil shouted as he pointed at the figure in front of them. It was small but held a golden mask of a woman’s face that glimmered in the light. “What is that thing?”

_ ‘Victor….’  _ The voice called out towards Neil, who’s eyes widened as it slowly approached the duo.

“Neil, I think that’s a Yanmask!”


	7. Chapter 7

“A Yanmask?” Neil looked up at the Spirit Pokemon and shook his head. “Hide…why does that have a gold mask, though?”

“You’re from Galar, correct? Well, these are the normal-looking ones, compared to the ones you’re used to.” Hide stared at the Yanmask, who floated closer to the kids.

“Normal looking ones?” Neil tilted his head and raised a brow. “This is beyond normal if you ask me.” The Yanmask moaned and sent out a blast of energy, sending Neil flying back. 

“Neil!” Hide ran forward and caught their friend as the two rolled back and hit the wall. “I gotcha…”

“Hide, are you okay?” Neil looked up and brushed the dirt off of Hide, who coughed and smirked back.

“Yeah, I’m okay- Look out!” Hide pushed Neil down and rolled away as a chair flew towards the wall near them, shattering into a bunch of pieces.

_ ‘Victor…..’  _ Neil looked up as the Yanmask flew towards Neil.

“Chimchar, Flamethrower!” A blast of flame shot out from behind Neil and sent the Yanmask flying back. “Come on, let’s get moving!” Hide grabbed Neil’s hand, and the duo ran the opposite direction towards the study.

“Hide, where are we going?” Neil looked back as the Yanmask flew towards them.

“I don’t know, but we are getting as far away as we can from that thing!” 

“Hide, watch out!” A table flew towards them and landed in front of Hide’s face. Hide nodded at Chimchar, who jumped off of his shoulder.

“Chimchar, use scratch!” The Chimp Pokemon jumped into the air and slashed the table, splitting it in two. “Let’s go!” Hide, and Neil ran out of the study and up the stairs and into a nearby closet and slammed it shut.

“Hide, we can’t keep running forever.” Neil panted as Hide took a deep breath.

“I know, but what else are we supposed to do.”

“Use, Chimchar to break open the front doors?” Hide stared at Neil and slapped his face.

“Why didn’t I think of that! I’m an idiot….I guess I was too scared to think properly.” 

“It’s fine...you’re okay.” Neil laughed and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. “Hide...do you hear buzzing?” Hide turned on his flashlight and looked around.

“Now that you mention it…I hear it too.” The kids looked behind them and froze as they saw a pair of glowing blue eyes, surrounded by a green light.

“It’s the ghost from the tv!” Neil shouted as the ghost laughed and buzzed to life.

“I thought it was a tv?” Hide shouted as the ghost crept closer to them. “Why is it in a lawnmower?” The ghost inched forward and jumped towards the pair, causing them to jump down as the mower burst through the door, crashing itself into the Yanmask.

_ ‘Huh? Did the ghost know?’  _ Hide felt Neil grab their hand, and they ran out the door.

“Come on, let’s go to the front door!” Neil dragged Hide down the stairs, panting as the Yanmask floated around in a daze.

“Right!” Hide looked back as the ghost of the tv floated around and smiled at them.

_ ‘That looks like…’  _

“Here, we are!” Neil ran towards the door and stared at Hide. “Okay, let’s break open this door, right now. Haunter, can you help us out?” Haunter flew out of Neil’s shadow and hugged his trainer.

“You have a Haunter? That’s so cool!” Hide pushed up his glasses as he stared at the Gas Pokemon. Haunter suddenly glared at Hide and floated in front of Neil.

“Haunter, wait!” Neil waved his arms around and shook his head. “This is Hide; he’s my friend!” Hide watched as Haunter’s expression changed and smiled at the kid.

“Where’d you get this, Haunter?”

“I got him in Johto!”

“Wow, you have to tell me how you got him!” Hide felt a chill crawl up their spine as the Yanmask flew towards them. “I forgot...let’s go destroy the door!”

“Right, Haunter, use Shadow Ball!”

“Chimchar, use Flamethrower!” The two attacks flew towards the door, but bounced off and landed back onto Chimchar and Haunter, knocking Haunter out.

“What? How did that happen?” Neil ran towards his Pokemon and held Haunter up. “Buddy, you okay?” Haunter nodded as Neil returned him.

“It might’ve been the Yanmask, or…” Hide lifted his Pokemon in his arms. “You alright?” Chimchar nodded and climbed back onto Hide’s shoulders.

_ ‘That ghost...it looks like the picture of...could it be?’  _ Hide looked up as the ghost flew towards them. 

“Neil, let’s run towards the kitchen...I have a theory.”

“Now? We have to figure out who to get out of here!” 

“Just trust me, okay?” Hide held out his hand and stared at Neil, who nodded and grabbed it.

“Okay, where too-” Hide and Neil ran towards the kitchen as the two ghosts gave chase. “Hide, what’s your theory?”

“One sec, we have to get there first.” Hide spotted the fridge and watched as the Yanmask flew towards them. “There!” 

“Hide, there’s no time to be hungry!”

“There’s always time! But I’m not talking about food! Watch…” Hide nodded at Chimchar and pointed at the lawnmower. “Chimchar, use Flamethrower!” The attack landed a direct hit on the lawnmower, sending the machine crashing down towards the ground. 

“Okay, so you can destroy it?” Neil crossed his arms as Hide chuckled and pushed up his glasses.

“Watch, and learn, Neil.” Suddenly a blue light flew out from the lawnmower and flew into the fridge, causing it to come to life.

“What? Another ghost?” Neil grabbed onto Hide’s arm and coward in fear.

“Not a ghost, Neil...a Rotom!” Hide grinned as the Rotom flew up and laughed at the pair.

“A Rotom...oh, right that explains it!” Neil pointed at the Pokemon and laughed. 

“Yeah, it can possess electronics, and we found what we came for!”

“Too bad, we probably aren’t gonna see the light of day.” Neil pouted as Hide gripped his hand.

“We will get out of here, and we are using that Rotom.”

“How?” Hide looked back at their friend and smiled.

“Because I’m gonna capture it!”


	8. Chapter 8

“Capture, it? What do you mean?” Neil stood behind Hide as the Rotom possessing the fridge grinned and flew towards them.

“It’s just like any Pokemon...we battle it, or befriend it.” Hide gripped his bag and swallowed hard.

_ ‘At our current state, battling is way out of our league...so there must be something we can do…’  _ Hide observed the Rotom who flew towards them.

“Come on, Neil!” Hide grabbed his friend’s arm, and they ran around the kitchen, sliding under the table as the Rotom chased them.

“Why do we keep running?” Neil looked back and gasped as he saw the Yanmask, blast a Shadow Ball towards them. “Duck!” The kids rolled out of the way as the attack smashed a nearby wall.

“I’m testing a theory, Neil.”

“Now? Isn’t now a bad time?”

“As I said, trust me...I just need one more room to try out. Where’s the study again?”

“The opposite side of the kitchen...but, what’s the reason? There’s only one way in and out...we are basically trapping ourselves!” Neil’s cries fell on deaf ears as Hide pulled him into the study. Hide turned around and shut the door, locking it before looking around the room.

“Okay, now where is the...there!” Hide ran towards the fan and smiled at it.

“The fan?”

“Yep...remember when you said the fan turned itself on?” Neil nodded as the door began to thump. “Well, I Rotom can possess certain electronics, right?” 

“Go on…” Neil jumped as the door began to crack under pressure. “Hide….give me the quick version.”

“Well, I also noticed that not once the Rotom attacked us...it was only the Yanmask.” Neil crossed his arms and raised a brow at his friend.

“You noticed all that? I’m impressed. But how does that help us?” Suddenly the door broke open as the Yanmask and Rotom flew inside. Neil ran behind Hide, who grinned and looked at their Chimchar.

“Watch.” Hide tossed a book towards the pair of Pokemon smacking the Yanmask back. “Chimchar, use Flamethrower!” Chimchar jumped from Hide’s shoulder and blasted a large current of flame towards Yanmask, sending it flying out the room.

“Nice hit, Hide!” Neil jumped up and slapped his friend’s back. “But uh...what are we gonna do about the Rotom?”

“Keep watching, Neil.” Hide held up the fan and smiled at it.

“Hide, wait, isn’t that a bad thing? Why are you…” Hide looked back and stared at Neil.

“Neil, please...trust me, you’ve made it this far, haven’t you?”

“Well yeah….I guess so.” Neil took a deep breath and stared a the ground. “Yeah, you got us here, and you solved a lot of the mysteries here. Okay, I trust you.” 

“Thanks, Neil.” Hide turned his attention towards Rotom and swallowed. “Rotom...I know you don’t want to hurt us.” Rotom slowly buzzed towards the fan and smiled at them. 

_ ‘Please, work...please let me be right.’  _ Hide froze as he felt the hairs on his arm stand up from the static that buzzed around Rotom. Suddenly Rotom flew out of the fridge and went inside the fan that Hide was holding. Sending the fridge crashing down into the floorboards.

“Did it work?” Neil watched as Hide stepped back from the fan. It turned a bright orange as Rotom’s face appeared and floated around Hide.

“I think so…” Hide watched the Rotom dance around their head, snickering as it sat on Hide’s head. Hide winced as the Rotom zapped him.

“Hide!” Neil ran towards them but stopped as Hide turned around.

“It’s okay, Neil...that didn’t hurt, it just surprised me.” Hide giggled as Rotom danced around them. “I think it likes me!”

“Wow, that’s amazing!” Neil’s eyes lit up as Rotom bowed towards him and flew above his head. 

_ ‘Victor…’  _ Neil looked up and froze as the Yanmask flew towards the room. 

“Hide, it’s back!” Hide looked at Rotom and smiled at it.

“Rotom, can you help us out?” Rotom grinned and faced Yanmask, while Hide’s face lit up. “Okay, use Air Slash!” Hide pointed at the Yanmask while Rotom’s fan began to spin. Air flew out of Rotom’s fan and flew towards Yanmask, slashing the mask. Neil clutched his chest as he heard a voice cry out.

_ ‘Huh? Was that...crying?’  _

“Alright, Rotom! Let’s keep the attacks up!” Neil looked over at his friend and shook his head.

“Hide, I think-”

“Rotom, use Thunderbolt!”

“Hide, no!” Neil pushed Rotom out of the way, causing the attack to miss.”

“Neil? What’s going on? I almost had it!” Neil stuck his arm out and stared at the Yanmask.

“I heard it crying…”

“What? Are you sure?” Neil nodded and clutched his chest again.

“She’s lost...and hurt? And scared?” Neil reached up towards the Yanmask and held his palm out. “It’s okay...I won’t hurt you.”

“Neil, be careful!” Hide watched as the Yanmask floated towards Neil. It lowered itself and stared at Neil in the face, almost smiling at him.

“See, I won’t hurt you...for some reason, you feel familiar to me.” Neil laughed as the Yanmask hugged him. “There, there, you’re okay.”

“Wow, Neil, that’s amazing!” Neil smiled at Hide who touched his shoulder.

  
“Not as amazing as you! But uh, we should probably get out of here.” 

“Right.” Hide walked with Neil towards the entrance and smiled at it. “Okay, let’s get the heck out of here!” Neil smiled as Hide touched the door but froze as he felt the Yanmask tighten her grip around him.

“Yanmask, you’re kind of hurting me.” He looked down and winced as Yanmask shook her head and slowly pulled him away from the door. “Hide...something’s wrong!”

“Neil!” Hide grabbed for his friend, but fell back as Yanmask slapped them away.

“Hide!” Neil cried out as Yanmask lifted him in the air. Yanmask gripped him and held him close.

_ ‘Victor!’  _ Neil looked over and whimpered at the Yanmask.

“I’m not, him! Why are you doing this!”

“Neil!” Hide shouted and looked at Rotom. “Rotom, we have to save him!” Rotom sparked at Yanmask, who retaliated by putting Neil in front of her. “You coward, let my friend go!”

“Hide, go get my dad!” 

“Neil, I can’t leave you!”

“Just do it! She won’t hurt me...I’ll be okay!” Neil smiled as Hide sank to his knees, tears running from his eyes.

“No...I can’t...you’re my friend..my first friend...I won’t run from you! I want to save you!” Suddenly the front door flew open as a figure walked up from behind Hide.

“You have some good friend there, Neil!” Neil smiled as he saw Victor grin at his son.

“Dad!”

“Hey, Neil...sorry I’m late.”


	9. Chapter 9

“Dad, how did you get here?” Neil smiled but winced in pain as Yanmask hissed and gripped Neil together. “Dad, he-”

“It’s okay, Neil. I’ll handle this.” Victor smiled as he looked over at his Zamazenta, who growled at the Yanmask. “Zama, please calm down, I know we both are angry.” Victor glared at the Yanmask and pointed at it. “You have my son, let him go, or I will take action!”

“Dad, wait!” Neil shouted as Yanmask whimpered next to him.

“Zamazenta, use Crunch!” Zamazenta jumped towards Yanmask.

_‘Victor…’_

“Huh?” Neil looked over at the Yanmask, who slashed towards Zamazenta. “Zama, no!” Neil watched as Zamazenta, dodged and bit down into Yanmask. Yanmask fell back, releasing Neil from its grasp.

“Neil, I got you!” Victor reached out and caught Neil into his arms and hugged him. “Neil, I’m so glad you’re safe.”

“Dad…” Neil whimpered and wrapped his arms around the Champion. “Dad, I was so scared…”

“It’s okay, buddy, Dad’s here now.” Victor massaged Neil’s head and looked down at Hide. “Hide, right? Thanks for watching over my son...but for now, let me take over for now.” Hide nodded as Victor set Neil down.

“Dad, where’s Papa?” Victor chuckled and scratched his face.

“Well...uh, I kind of rushed ahead when I found out you were in danger.”

“Again?” Neil crossed his arms and tapped his foot at Victor.

“Sorry, you know how I am!”

“How long did it take you, though?”

“Uh, maybe ten minutes? It would’ve been faster if I knew my way around.” Victor laughed as Neil shook his head and smiled at him.

“How’d you find us, Mister Victor?” Hide sat up and watched as Victor crouched down and ruffled Hide’s hair.

“Call it a dad sense, but I knew something was wrong when you two went off on your own. So I had my Rotom keep track of Neil’s.

“You can do that?” Neil pulled out his purple and black phone and stared at it.

“It was a new thing that the scientist implemented, but it was still in its testing stages, but I had it installed into your phone and only used it in emergencies.” Victor hugged the two kids and held them tightly. “I’m glad you two are safe.”

“Thanks, Dad...I’m glad you’re here.” Neil looked at the ground and buried his face into his father’s shirt. “Thanks for being there for me, Dad.”

“Of course, Neil...you’re my pride and joy, I would never let anything hurt you.” Hide clutched his chest and bit his lip.

_‘Professor...you always looked after my best interest at heart...I guess Neil was right, after all. You do love me.’_ The Yanmask stood up and screamed as Victor stood in front of the kids.

“Neil, Hide, stand back, I’ll handle this.” He adjusted his snapback and pointed at the Yanmask. “You have tormented these children long enough! It’s time for you to pay for the consequences! Zamazenta, use Iron Head!” Zamazenta roared and rammed its head into the Spirit Pokemon, causing it to fly into the wall.

“Dad, wait!” Neil shouted and ran forwards but froze when Hide grabbed him.

“Neil, don’t! Let your dad handle this; he’s the Champion; he can handle it.”

“It’s not him I’m worried about…” Neil stared at the Yanmask and clutched his chest.

_‘You must be hurting...but I want to help you!’_

“Zamazenta, Moonblast!” Zamazenta charged a massive blast of pink energy and shot it towards Yanamask, who disappeared and appeared behind Victor. “Huh?” 

“Dad!” Neil watched as Yanmask slashed his father’s back. “Dad!” Neil cried out and ran over to him as he gripped his shoulder.

“I’m okay...it just surprised me, that’s all.” Victor panted and winced as the wound pulsed and ached his body. “That’s no normal Yanmask.”

“Dad...there’s something I need to tell you.” Zamazenta roared and slammed its head into Yanmask, sending it flying towards the kitchen.

“What is it, Neil?” 

“Dad...that Yanmask spoke to me...it called out your name.” 

“It did?” Victor’s eyes widened as Zamazenta flew back from a Shadow Ball. “Zamazenta!” He stood up and ran towards his Pokemon and checked its injuries. “Good, you’re not to hurt, but I don’t understand, how can this Yanmask be so strong?”

“Dad...you remember how Yanamask, sometimes carry on the spirits of the forgotten...what if...what if it’s-” Suddenly Neil flew back as Yanmask grabbed him.

“Neil!” Victor cried out as Neil was stuck to the wall by a claw.

“Dad!” Neil winced as the claw dug into the wooden walls behind him, trapping him. “Dad, I think it’s calling to you!”

“Me? Are you sure?” Yanmask roared and blasted out a wave of energy towards the group. “Hide, get down!” Victor ran in front of Hide and hugged him as they were pushed back.

“Mister Victor...is Neil gonna be okay?”

“Don’t worry; I can handle this….” Victor’s cap flew off as he turned around. Zamazenta growled and stepped forward, but Victor stopped it. “Zama, don’t...I know what to do.” He fixed his hair and slowly walked towards the Yanmask.

“Dad, be careful!” Neil shouted.

“Don’t worry; I will…” Victor looked at the Yanmask and took a deep breath. “I know who you are! Please, don’t you recognize me?”

_‘Victor!!!!’_ The voice grew louder and louder as the house shook around Victor.

“It’s me, mom! It’s me! Victor, your son! Please stop this; you don’t have to be scared anymore, I’m here!” Victor held out his arms as the house froze. 

“Grandma?” Neil watched as Yanmask began to cry next to him. “You’re my Grandmother?” Neil fell from the wall and watched as Victor walked up to the Yanmask.

“Mom...you must’ve been so hurt that you couldn’t see Gloria and me when you died...I’m sorry, but I’m here now...please, don’t hurt my family anymore.” Victor hugged the Yanmask and cried as it slowly disappeared in his arms.

  
‘Vic...I’m sorry…’ Victor fell to his knees as Yanmask disappeared, leaving behind his now-dead mother’s golden mask.


	10. Chapter 10

“Dad?” Neil walked up to Victor, who held the golden mask in his hands.

“Yeah? What is it, Neil?” His son crouched down next to him and held his hand.

“You gonna be okay?” Victor smiled and ruffled his son’s hair.

“Yeah, I will be.”

“Vic!” Hop’s voice called out from behind them as Rowan ran towards Hide.

“Hideyoshi!” 

“Rowan?” Hide stood up and stood back as Rowan embraced him in a tight hug.

“I’m so glad you’re safe! I was worried about you.”

“You were?” Hide looked up at the Professor, who nodded.

“Of course, you’re family to me...how could I not be worried.” Hide clutched his chest and whimpered.

_‘Family…’_

“Rowan...I mean..Grandpa...I was so scared too...I’m glad you’re here now!” Hide hugged Rowan and cried in his arms.

“It’s okay, buddy, you’re safe now...I’m glad you’re not hurt.” Hide buried their face into the Professor’s arms, who massaged his head. Neil looked over at Hop and hugged him.

“Papa!”

“Hey, Neil...what did I miss?” Hop looked over at Victor, who sat on his knees and stared at the golden mask. “Oh no…” Hop ran over to his husband and crouched down. “Vic...you okay?”

“She was all alone and afraid...I never realized she died like this.”

“Your mother, right?” Victor nodded and whimpered as Hop hugged him. “Vic, it’s okay.”

“When I hugged her, one last time in this place...I could feel all of her emotions...she wanted to come home, to want me and Gloria to come home, to see her one last time.”

“She loved you a ton, didn’t she?”

“Of course...she wasn’t the best mother, but she made amends to both Gloria and me, and she supported everything we did...I was so happy to introduce Neil to her...I wish I could’ve seen the illness sooner.”

“Vic, honey...it’s not your fault...she may be gone, but she still lives on.” Hop pointed to Victor’s chest and smiled. “In you and Gloria.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right…” Victor stood up and walked towards Neil and crouched down. “Son, there’s something I want to tell you...but let me show you to your grandmother, okay?”

“Okay, Dad…” Neil grabbed Victor’s hand and smiled at Hide as the group walked out of the Old Chateau. Neil looked back at the old home and smiled. Suddenly he saw a group of ghosts staring at him. They all smiled and waved as they disappeared into the mansion.

“Neil?” Hop’s voice snapped him back into reality as he looked up.

“Yes, Papa?” 

“You okay?”

“Yeah, just happy to be out of there…”

“Good, cause you two need a bath.” Hop plugged his nose and waved his hand around, causing the two kids to laugh.

“Hey, Neil…” Hide walked up to Neil and twiddled his fingers.

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry for putting us in danger...I’m sorry if it means we can’t be friends anymore.”

“Are you kidding?” Neil grinned and hugged Hide. “That was the most fun I ever had! We’re not just friends; we are best friends now!”

“What makes you say that?” Hide blushed and hugged Neil back.

“I don’t know; I just feel a special connection with you, that’s all. Hope that’s not weird.”

“No, no, it’s fine.” Hide laughed as he pushed up his glasses. “I’ve never had a best friend before.”

“Me neither!” Neil giggled as he turned around and ran towards his dads.

“Grandpa…” Hide looked up at Rowan, who stared down at him.

“Yes, Hide?”

“I’m glad Neil came to visit!” Rowan smiled and ruffled Hide’s hair.

“I’m glad too.”

* * *

Victor, Hop, and Neil walked along the flowery path of Floraoma Town, with Hide and Professor Rowan following behind them.

“The flowers are pretty today.” Victor looked around the fields and smiled as the trio came upon a single gravestone. “Here we are.” Victor walked forward and brushed off the grave’s dust and smiled as he saw the name “Olivia,” written across the slab. “Hey, Mom...I’m here to return you home.” Victor placed the golden mask on the grave and sat down. “I know I haven’t been able to see you, since I’ve been busy. With the Champion business and whatnot.” Victor bit his lip and took a deep breath. “I want to introduce you to my family!” Victor looked back at Hop and Neil and motioned them over.

“Hey there…” Hop smiled and rubbed his hand across the grave. “You remember me, right? Crazy Hop? The kid who got your kids into trouble a lot. But get this, I married your son! Isn’t that something? Victor and Gloria are amazing people, and I’m so glad to have met them...I never got to know you much, but thank you for bringing Victor into my life.” Hop kissed Victor on the head and took Neil’s hand and brought it to Victor.

“Hey, Mom...I want you to meet your grandson, Neil.” 

“Hi, grandma!” Neil sat in Victor’s lap and smiled at the mask. “I’m sorry that our first meeting was a bit, bad.” Neil scratched the back of his head and laughed. “I heard you wanted to meet me, but couldn’t cause you died...and that made you sad. But I’m here now, at least, and I just wanted to tell you that you don’t have to be worried about Dad anymore! Papa and I love him, so he’s never lonely! And I want to be just like Dad when I grow up, cause he’s the greatest trainer ever!” Neil stood up and pointed to his chest. “Don’t worry, Grandma! I’ll be sure to watch over Dad and Aunt Gloria.” Neil sank to his knees and teared up. “Dad...why do I feel sad…?” He turned around and ran over to Victor, who hugged him.

“You’re a good kid, Neil. Maybe that’s why?” Hop hugged them both and smiled as the two cried in his arms.

“Olivia...you have such a good family.” Hide gripped Rowan’s hand and looked up at him.

“Grandpa?”

“Yes?”

“I need to talk to you about something.”

“Me too. Hide, I need to come clean...I’m not your real Grandpa...You see.”

“My parents died in an accident…” Rowan raised a brow at Hide, who looked to the ground.

“How’d you?”

“I overheard you one night...I was scared to tell you cause I thought you wouldn’t love me anymore.”

“Hide…” Rowan crouched down and brushed back Hide’s tears. “Of course, I love you...I may not be your biological grandfather...but my love for you is real.” Hide laughed and smiled at him.

“You know, Neil told me the same thing!”

“Oh?” Rowan raised a brow and stared at Neil. “How so?”

“Well, he said that he could tell that you truly love me, and that’s more than enough of a reason to believe you and I are family!”

“I’m glad...Neil’s a special boy, and you too, Hide.” Rowan pointed to their chest and smiled. “You have the makings of being the greatest Pokemon Professor.”

“Like you?”

“No..even better.”

“I love you, grandpa!” Hide hugged Rowan, who returned the warm embrace.

“I love you too, Hide. Always have, and always will.”

“Hey, Hide!” Neil ran towards his friend and hugged him from behind.

“What is it?” Neil grinned and held his arms out.

“Dad said that we are gonna stay in Sinnoh a bit longer so that my Aunt can see my Grandma!”

“You mean, we can hang out a bit longer?”

“Uh-huh!” Neil smiled and held Hide’s hands, “Just no more haunted mansions..”

“Agreed.” Hide laughed and jumped back as Rotom buzzed around his head.

“So, this is the Rotom that’s been hiding in the Old Chateau all this time?” Rowan scratched his beard and laughed as Rotom sparked his hair.

“Is it okay if I keep him?” Hide twiddled his thumbs as he kicked the ground.

“Well, if you can take care of him...I don’t see why not...but you’re gonna need this.” Rowan held out an Ultra Ball and placed it in Hide’s hands.

“Thanks, Grandpa!” Hide hugged Rowan and turned towards his Rotom. “Okay, Rotom...would you like to join me officially?” Rotom buzzed around and touched the ball, sending a bright red flash around it. The Ultra Ball shook once and froze. 

“Good job, Hide!” Neil hugged his friend and laughed.

“I did it! I caught a Rotom!” Hide smiled as he held the ball into the air. 

_‘Welcome to our family, buddy.’_


	11. Chapter 11

“Okay, Rotom now if you just hold still while I,” Hide examined the Plasma Pokemon as it zipped around his desk. Hide chuckled and stared at his Pokemon. “I know you’re excited to be out of that dusty Old Chateau, but I need you to sit still for me!” Rotom snickered as it sat on Hide’s desk. “Okay, let’s see.” Hide rolled away from his desk and brought out an old fan. “I tinkered around with this fan, and if it works- I sure hope it does; then you can possess these things like the old mansion!” Rotom flew over to the fan and examined it.

“It’s okay, buddy.” Hide smiled as his Chimchar sat on his orange hair. Rotom flew into the fan and transformed into the fan itself. “Awesome, it works! I think I’ll call this form, Fan Rotom! Has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?” Rotom scowled and shook its body at Hide. “Okay, fair, but I wasn’t the one who filled out the Pokedex!” Rotom flew out of the fan and sighed as Hide examined the object. “Hmm, okay, so we know that it still works. I wonder if I can make it so that it can shrink down and fit into my bag.” Hide pondered and smirked at the fan. “I guess that’s the fun of it all!”

“Hide!” Rowan’s voice called from his door, causing him to sit up.

“Yes, Grandpa?”

“Your little friend is here!” 

“Can you send him in? Thanks!” Hide turned back to his work and smiled as he heard a knock on the door.

“Hide, Hide! I’m coming in!” Neil opened the door and smiled wide as he saw his friend. “Morning to you!”

“Morning, Neil!” Hide looked up from his work as Neil ran over to hug them. “Are you by yourself today?”

“Yep! Dad and Papa are meeting my aunt at the airport to pick her up to visit grandma! So they told me I could hang out with you today!” Hide smiled and sat back in their chair.

“Really? That’s awesome! What did you want to do today?”

“I’m not sure! But let’s stay close by, I don’t want to explore too far again.” Neil chuckled as Chimchar landed near him. “Hey, buddy!” Neil giggled as he rubbed the Chimp Pokemon’s belly.

“We could go fishing if you want?” Hide pushed him his glasses and sat back on his chair. “The ocean is close by to Sandgem Town, and we will be close to the lab in case trouble happens!”

“Oh, that sounds like a fun idea! Let’s go!” Neil sat up from the bed and gripped his bag. “You ready.”

“Just one sec...I want to test one thing.” Hide rolled up to his desk and took off his Poketech. “Okay, Rotom...let’s try possessing this!” Rotom frowned and entered the watch.

“Did it work?” Neil looked over Hide’s shoulder and waited for the watch to come to life.

“I think so?” Hide stood back as the Poketech sputtered and flashed as Rotom tried to possess it. “Neil, get back!” The Poketech began to smoke and spark as Rotom tried to move around in it.

“Rotom is in danger!” 

“I got this, Neil hand me those rubber gloves!”

“Okay!” Neil hurried to Hide’s toolbox and threw him the gloves.

“Alright...sorry about this, buddy.” Hide grabbed the sparking watch and pried it open. The Poketech smoked and sparked more as Rotom flew out of the watch.

“Neil, the window!” The boy ran towards the window and threw it open as the smoke cleared out of the room. “Phew...that was close.” Hide sat back and massaged Rotom’s head. “You okay?” The Plasma Pokemon flew over to Hide’s head and frowned at the broken watch. “Oh, don’t worry about the Poketech; I have a spare in case something like this happens.” Hide walked over to a dresser and pulled out a black box and grabbed a new Poketech.

“You have so many!” Neil’s eyes lit up as Hide strapped the new one on his wrist.

“Yeah, they are all spares, for when I want to experiment on them.”

“Could I try one on?”

“Sure, but only for a bit…” Hide brought one over and strapped the Poketech on Neil’s wrist and smiled as his friend. “It suits you.”

“You think so?” Neil posed in front of the mirror and giggled. “I kind of like it, but I think the Dynamax band fits me better!”

“Oh yeah, you have to show me that sometime!”

“When I get my own, I’ll be sure to show you!” 

“Careful, I might modify it.”

“As long as you don’t blow up my arm, I’ll be fine!” Neil giggled as Hide adjusted the watch.

“No promises, but you’ll be alright.”

“But what if my arm does blow off?” Neil threw his hands back as Hide grinned.

“I said you’d be all right.” Neil chuckled and punched them in the arm.

“Funny…”

“Only to you, Neil.”

* * *

Neil and Hide walked along the sandy beach of Sandgem town, their bare feet squishing against the soft sand.

“It’s a good thing; the beach has warmed up a bit.” Hide chuckled as he stomped the sand.

“Yeah, I couldn’t imagine if the beach was cold.” Neil giggled as he followed Hide’s footsteps, jumping from footprint to footprint. “Hide, don’t spread out your steps so much, I might fall-” Neil slipped and tumbled towards the sand.

“Whoa, I gotcha!” Hide grabbed Neil’s hand and pulled him close. “You okay?” Neil blushed as he felt his heart race.

“Yeah...I am…” Neil brushed the sand off of his pants and shook his head. “Thanks for saving me, Hide.”

“Sure thing.” Hide turned around pointed towards the pier. “Here, we can fish for Pokemon!”

“Sweet! I want to catch a Feebas! Milotic’s are so pretty!”

“Well, they are pretty rare, but I might be able to help out with my Dowsing Machine!” Hide grinned as he flipped to the app. “Although it’s not as good as my original one, it should be fine!” Hide sat on the wooden pier and brought out a fishing rod. “Let’s nab you a cool Pokemon!”

“Yeah!” Neil sat next to Hide and grabbed his fishing rod, and began casting.

About an hour later, Neil yawned and leaned on Hide’s shoulder. “Hide...I don’t think anything is biting…”

“Hmmm, let me try the dowsing machine again.” Hide pressed the button and stood back as the watch beeped and hummed. “Well, according to this...there’s something rare in that spot!” Hide pointed further along the waters and smiled.

“I don’t think I can reach that far, Hide?” 

“It’s okay, let me help you!” Hide stood behind Neil and grabbed the rod. “You ready? We are gonna cast it with all our might!”

“Yeah, I’m ready!” The duo lifted the fishing rod and cast it to the location marked by Hide and waited.

“Hey, Hide…”

“Yeah?” Hide looked over at Neil, who sighed.

“Promise me that we will still be friends?”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, you know I can’t stay here forever…”

“Oh, right...I forgot that you’re from Galar.” Hide sat back and stared at the sky. “It feels like you’ve lived here forever.”

“Yeah...I’m kind of sad that we won’t see each other anymore. But it’ okay, though.”

“What makes you say that?” Hide raised a brow at Neil, who giggled and gripped the fishing rod.

“Dad always tells me that friendship isn’t forged on just seeing the person every day. Friendship is a bond that is so strong; it can’t be broken, even if it means the people are apart, because in the end...it’s all connected.” 

“Wow, that’s pretty insightful, Neil.” Hide chuckled and stared at the waves that crashed against the shore. “Call me crazy, but I think our friendship will last forever…”

“You think so?” 

“Yeah...I feel a strong connection with you, and even with all my knowledge and know-how...I don’t need my smarts to know how good of a friend you are to me.” Hide smiled at the sky and felt his body heat up. “Neil, do you feel that?”

“Feel what?”

“It’s getting warm suddenly.”

“You okay? Maybe it’s the sun?”

“I think so….” Suddenly Hide spotted something white in the sky. It roared and disappeared as a small ring of flames shot out.

_ ‘What was that?’  _ Hide thought as Neil shouted.

“The line!” Neil gripped the fishing rod and began pulling. “Wow, this guy is fierce!”

“Hang on; I’m gonna help!” Hide ran behind Neil and grabbed the rod, and pulled. “Wow, this Pokemon is strong!”

“I wonder if it’s a Feebas?” Neil giggled as he pulled the line closer and closer.

“Maybe…” Hide laughed and gasped as a pink Pokemon flew out of the water. 

“Is that a Feebas?” Hide shook his head and frowned.

“Sadly, now...it’s a Shellos...and by the look of it, it’s a West Sea one. I’m sorry, Neil, we might have to throw it back.”

“No…” Neil stared at the Pokemon and shook his head.

“No?”

“Yeah, this Shellos...IT’S SO CUTE!” Neil hugged the Pokemon and giggled as slime got over his face. “I LOVE IT! I LOVE IT!”

“You like that Pokemon?” Hide shivered as he watched his friend get covered in slime.

“Yeah! It’s so cute! I want to keep it! What do you say, Shellos?” The Sea Slug Pokemon teared up and smiled as Neil hugged it.

“I think it likes you, Neil!” Suddenly they heard shaking from the waters.

“My my dear brother looks like we found the little spawn here.” There was laughter in the air as a small ship appeared from the waters.

“You guys?” Neil stood back as Sordward and Shielbert scoffed at him. “What are you doing here?”

“Searching for more Power Spots...but it seems like there’s none in this region.” 

“Who’s that, Neil? And why do they have terrible hair?” Sordward grunted and pointed at Hide.

“How dare you insult our hair, you sorry excuse for a burnt orange!”

“Hey! Leave him alone!” Neil shouted.

“I see you still have a mouth...well, how about we silence that.” Shielbert pressed a button, and a metal cage appeared around Neil.

“Neil!” Hide watched as Neil flew inside the ship.

“Hide! Go get my Dads! They’ll know what to do!” Just as quickly the twins came, they disappeared, leaving behind Hide and the fishing rod.

“Neil…”


	12. Chapter 12

“So you’re saying that two men in funny hair, kidnapped Neil while you two were out fishing?” Victor sat in the chair of Professor Rowan’s lab, his face darkened beyond imagination.

“Yes…” Hide nodded, “Neil told me to go get you guys...I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything.” 

“It’s alright, Hide.” Hop crouched down and placed a hand on Hide’s shoulder. 

“Who are those clowns anyway?”

“They are Sordward and Shielbert.” Gloria crossed her arms and stifled a laugh… “Clowns...I love this kid.” She cleared her throat and stared at her brother. “They terrorized Galar for a while, even when we were kids. But now they want revenge on Vic and Hop, and they are doing whatever they please around the regions.”

“Hide, you’ve heard of Dynamaxing, right?” Hide nodded as Hop, who smiled at him. “Okay, that skips the hard part...well basically those clowns are traveling across the world to try to power up Eternatus again.

“What’s Eternatus? By the sounds of things, it’s a Pokemon that shouldn’t be woken up.” Victor chuckled and smiled at Rowan.

“Rowan, you raised one clever kid. Yes, Eternatus is known to bring the catastrophic event known as The Darkest Day. It happened a few years ago before, but Hop and I managed to stop it...but in doing so, we lost that special power that held Eternatus at bay...if Eternatus were to fully awaken again...I don’t think Zacian and Zamazenta can stop it.” Victor stared at the ground and shook his head.

“What does Neil have to do with this?” Hide gripped his bag and bit his lip.

“They probably are gonna use him as leverage for us to cooperate...I mean.” Hop brought out a metal box and opened it, to reveal a few glowing Wishing Stars. “I’ve been collecting any excess Power Spot energy that we came across in the regions...thankfully, there weren’t any here, but I assume they want these in exchange for Neil.”

“I can’t let them take my son away again.” Victor stood up and stared at Hop and Gloria. “Problem is, we don’t know where they went.” The trio crossed their arms and sighed.

“We could split up in the different regions, but that would be too little time.” Gloria shook her head and punched her hand. “When I see those clowns, I’m gonna give them a good thrashing!”

“Gloria, please, we need to think rationally here.” Victor walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s try to figure out where Neil went.”

“I think I might know…” Hide ran towards the trio and held up his Poketech.

“How so little guy?” Hop raised a brow as Hide walked towards the main computer.

“So, all my Poketechs have tracking devices on them, in case I lose them. Neil still has his that he borrowed from me, so I should be able to pinpoint where exactly he is going to be.” Hide plugged his watch into the computer and began typing.

“Wow, Hide...Neil was right; you’re really smart.” Hop smiled as Hide pulled up a map of the world.

“Thanks, so those dots are us...since my Poketechs are back at home...now….” Hide pointed towards a moving red dot. “There...that has to be Neil.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m 99 percent sure, and based on their speed and trajectory...they are heading towards….Unova.” 

“Unova…” Hop scratched his beard and shook his head. “If I recall correctly, Sonia is there...maybe we can get into contact with her and warn her. Nice going, Hide!” Hop smiled at him and stared at Victor. “We know where they are going, Vic.”

“I’ll give you guys a lift on my plane.” Gloria adjusted her cap and chuckled. “No one messes with my nephew.”

“I want to go with you!” Hide jumped down from his chair and stared at the trio.

“Hide…” Rowan grabbed his shoulders and shook his head. “I’m sorry, but it’s too dangerous for you to go.”

“Grandpa, but I want to go! Neil is my friend, and I don’t want to stand by and let him get hurt! I care about Neil!” Hide cried out and hugged Rowan. “Please, I want to rescue Neil too...just like he did with me.” Victor crouched down and smiled at Hide.

“You really care about your friend, don’t you, Hide?”

“Yeah, Neil is my best friend, and I want to help out in any way I can!”

“You remind me a lot of myself...always wanting to help their best friend. Professor, Rowan...would it be alright if Hide went with us?”

“Really?” Hide looked up at Rowan, who scratched his chin.

“I don’t know…” Hop chuckled and stood next to Victor.

“Professor, I promise that we will watch over him, and besides...he’s the one who found Neil...the least we can do is have him tag along...he knows the way.” Professor Rowan crossed his arm and crouched down next to Hide.

“Hide, you’ve been by my side ever since you were little, but now, you’re about to embark on your very own journey...I’m so proud of you for wanting to save your friend. Just please be careful and call me any chance you get.” Hide’s eyes watered as he smiled wide at Rowan.

“Grandpa!” Hide hugged the older man and laughed. “Of course, I will! I’ll be careful...and I’ll be sure to save my friend!” Hide held out his pinky and grinned. “It’s a promise!”

“Alright then...you be safe, and be sure to listen to Victor and Hop, okay?” Rowan locked his pinky with Hide’s and smiled. “You’ve grown quite a bit since you met Neil.”

“Alright!” Victor stared at Gloria and nodded at her. “Gloria, get the plane going, it’s time to save Neil!” Hide looked at the map and clenched their fist.

_ ‘Don’t worry, Neil...I’ll save you!’  _


End file.
